COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
It is a ~8.5% ABV Black Saison. We fermented it with a Belgian saison yeast until it hit about 7% then we added our house ale yeast to finish it. Once it was done fermenting, we added it to new American oak barrels with a medium-heavy toast. Then we spiked it with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis. The "Brett" is an isolated culture from Belgium that gives the classic barnyard, horse blanket character and pleasing tartness to lambic style beers. The tartness is mild but noticeable and adds a wonderful complexity to the beer. In alchemy, Philosopher’s Stone is a reference to the substance believed to be able to turn metal into gold. Similarly, we believe we have taken a normal beer style and turned it into something extraordinary.

22 oz bottle from Armanetti’s in Antioch, IL (October 2006) imbibed at cellar temperature from a Corsendonk glass. Near opaque, slightly bubbly cola appearance, fizzy head dies very quickly to leave a very thin ring, no appreciable lacing....licorice, roasty and burnt malts, bitter chocolate and light earthy-spice notes would seem to make for a very nice aroma but they’re all curiously flat and subdued, never melding into anything harmonious or interesting, and the yeast is not apparent, no real "Belgian" character noticeable....sour cherry and grapy qualities dominate the body, reminiscent more of a schwarzbier than anything else, or perhaps a light-bodied and dry Baltic porter; malts are thin and the body weak with low tingly carbonation....on the whole, not very saison-like at all though kind of interesting in it’s way; but I’ve had a couple of better "black" saisons just in the last month from local brewers and this sucker just doesn’t cut it.

UPDATED: DEC 23, 2006 Bomber bottle. Poured a clear, beautiful dark mahogany color. Only a trace of head timidly encircles the perimeter of the glass. The nose has just a hint of spicy esteriness that is overtaken by a strange earthy funk. I am torn between my trepidation with the lack of carbonation and funk in the aroma and my eagerness to tear into a Brett-spiked beer. The flavor is a mix of mild lemony tartness, maltiness and sweaty sourness. The finish is thin, yet coats the tongue like a light oil, drying to a slowly fading sour astringency. I’ll give a light bonus for bravery and creativity but IMHO this brew would benefit from some evolution.

Dark redish color. Smell of hot dog juice, yeast, berries, hops, lemons, oranges and hints of of chocolate and coffee. Taste is very sour and tart. Also yeast, blueberries, hops, sour milk, coco, malt and the hints of coffee. This is a very strange beer.

UPDATED: JUL 8, 2007 Bottle. Pours almost black with a thin head. The aroma is dominated by yeast, cloves and banana/grapefruit.
Flavor gets you more of bubblegum, Belgian yeast, a hint of hops and some more fruit, but more like lemon. It finishes with a tart almost sour note.
Quite complex, buty it could use a slightly more robust body.

Bottled. Beer is very dark brown, clear, with a small, white, mostly and quickly diminishing head.<P>
Found the aroma very exciting; sweet, spikey, roasty and earthy. Malty with moderate note of roasted grain, light note of caramel; Hoppy with a moderate note of thyme-like herb; Yeasty with moderate-to-heavy note of horseblanket, light note of cobweb; Miscellaneous notes include a light note of soy sauce, moderate vinous balsamic vinegar (FSA-like), autumn leaves and a trace of copper.<P>
The flavor is moderately-to-heavily sweet, lightly bitter, moderately acidic with a long, lightly sweet, moderately acidic/juicy finish. Lots of genuine balsamic vinegar revealed in the retros.<P>
The body is medium, the texture is watery and the carbonation is soft.

no head. dark, but pretty red still. kinda smells like a wine or something. sour definitely. flavor ends quickly in a flat finish. a bit salty on the side of all the farmhouse bret taste. not the funkiest, but pretty rank. eh, i’ll give it an exra point for novelty.

Clear brown, no head. Aroma is burnt toaste, light citrus. Tste is bitter with toasted malts. Certainly has a bourbony background. Balanced sweetness, brett all over this one. Crazy idea for a beer, tastes great though.

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